Good idea (Tutorials section) and thanks to Boothy for creating the original tutorial

This tutorial explains how to add semi-transparent window reflection to images with Photoshop.

http://wiki.renderplus.com/index.php?title=IRender_nXt_and_Photoshop_Tutorial

Although the tutorial was done with a photo-realistic rendering image, it applies equally well to SketchUp renderings. - the semi-transparent reflections on the window were added using Photoshop techniques rather than with ray-tracing.

@remus said:

Heres quick demo.

The shutter sections and support bits are all in a group.

In the 1st scene the section cut at the top of the group is hidden and inactive. Then in the second scene It is hidden but active. You can change the timing by changing the scene transition time (window->model info->animation.)

Wow - amazing work remus!

I forgot that you can also put partially open blinds in layers and create about 8 very short key frames showing the blinds opening.

(I seem to recall that there is a ruby script which lets you assign particular times to key frames)

Form a client:

*Is it possible to articulate models during animation, to show
for example blinds coming over windows. Is this possible, if not with
Irender or standard sketchup, are there any other plugins that will do this?*

The IRender animation does not do articulation or movement of components. It only replicates the animation in SketchUp.

It is possible to change the layers at each key frame. So you could walk up to the blinds or a door and have them snap open. But you could not have them open slowly.

I am posting this query on the SketchUp Community Forum to see if anyone has created a ruby to help with true animation, rather than just a walk through.

@brooks_vrx said:

:? I'm working on a small project with 12 houses.
I made all houses as an individual group and assigned materials to the surface and it rended nicely.
I then exploded one of the groups, and now when i render the house it render the revers face.
i don't know how to fix this problem and it quite a big task to change and remap the all metatarsals
another thing i don't know why when i create a face it it doesn't assign the materials to both face some times it dose and some times it doesn't

Sorry I missed you post. We have not discovered a good way to get email notification from new posting on the SCF which related to Render Plus products. (Thank you to Richcat for re-posting this on the IRender nXt forum).

Here is the response we placed on the IRender nXt Forum:

http://nxt.accurender.com/forums/p/1474/6312.aspx

IRender nXt can only render one material per face. If you want a face do look different from each side, you need to make a thick surface - with two faces which are not coplanar, and place different materials on each side.

If a face has two materials, we use the material on the front.

If a face has only one material, on the back, we use that material.

We keep discussing other options, such as:

1. Always you the material which is on the side of the face facing the camera.

• This has the problem that if the back of the object is visible in a mirror, or reflected on a shiny surface, we will have chosen the wrong material for that face.

• Since SketchUp does not process reflection, it does not have this problem.

2. Always create two rendering faces for each face.

• This will make you model twice as large when we extract it, and will take longer to render.

We may offer one or both of these "solutions" as an option. However, for now it is best if you use SketchUp's "reverse face" feature where it helps and/or remove materials from faces which render from the wrong side.

@flo said:

is it possible to render in sketchhup? can u get 3d max like results? if so how?

IRender nXt is an add-on renderer for SketchUp. It creates some very nice images and is easy to use. See: http://wiki.renderplus.com/index.php?title=IRender for more information.

Image from IRender nXt gallery: http://nxt.accurender.com/photos/sketchup/default.aspx

We have always offered educational discounts to customers, but we never promoted them. Potential clients had to ask if they were available.

I think we were concerned about how hard it is to verify student or teacher information on a world wide basis, and also we were concerned that some people using the software professionally might feel that they were eligible for an educational version because of a part time, or adult education class.

On the other hand, one of my colleagues advises:

@unknownuser said:

Student copies are one of the most valuable marketing tools we have. It has been the most effective way to get into most of the commercial accounts we get into. Of course it is a long term strategy that takes 24+ months to see any kind of return.

Our biggest problem is making the student program visible enough. We recommend making it as visible as you possibly can.

I suppose that is another reason for hesitation. When you are starting out it is hard to implement a strategy which will take 2 years or more to start showing results.

What do you think?

• Are we likely to get abused by invalid student copies if we start promoting student discounts.

• Is it likely that an appreciable number of students in the SketchUp community will turn into commercial customers after they graduate?

• Has anyone else had experience with this either as a student client, or selling commercial products into an educational marketplace?

Render Plus Forum

After a little work, we were able to upgrade the VBulletin software which driver the Render Plus forum for RpTools, RPS 3D PDF and RpReports.

You can now join the forum and place your questions about these product there:

http://forums.renderplus.com/index.php

You can still post questions here and we will watch for them here if it is more convenient. But it you post your questions directly to the Render Plus forum, we will receive an email notification and can respond faster.

Questions about IRender nXt will continue to be fielded either here, or on the nXt Forum (which also includes nXt for Revit, Rhino and AutoCAD)

http://nxt.accurender.com/forums/146.aspx

Thanks,

I gave Vimio a try. They load up to 640 x 480 at normal resolution, and 1280 x 720 at high resolution.

I uploaded a video to: http://vimeo.com/2071816

I think it is at 640 x 480, although it seems to display at a lower resolution.

I embedded the Vimeo video link into a web page where it does display at 640 x 480:

http://www.renderplus.com/pdf/animation2.htm

I uploaded a video to Google Video and was very disappointed in the quality.

Then I read this on the Google site:

@unknownuser said:

Google Video recompresses all videos into 320x240 resolution Adobe Flash files with a bitrate of 450 Kbps to ensure reliable streaming from our servers. The download resolution is 480x360 at 800 Kbps. If you upload your video in any other aspect ratio, we will apply a letterbox format to your content to fit within the 4:3 frame.

Thanks,

We've been trying to figure out how to make our websites more friendly for users.

Someone suggested that our forum posts would be better if we had a photo for our avatar rather then the avatar we are currently using. Also, there has been some debate as to whether we should do more support here on the SketchUcation Forum, (since people don't have to join and watch multiple forums - one for SketchUp and another for the Render Plus add-ons).

Some people just don't like the Wiki approach to documentation. We find it very convenient, because it is so very easy to add things to the documentation. When we get a query that someone doesn't understand something, we can update the Wiki very, very quickly. For instance, I changed all the pages in the Bump Map section (6 different pages) yesterday as I reviewed them when posting the link to them.

SU Podium can be very easy to use - since it has a single dialog - and only allows a couple of settings - illumination and reflection. Our lighting model, for example, can be very complex - predefined light bulbs, automatic illumination from SketchUp light components, pre-defined lights on the 3D Warehouse, a wizard to create ceiling, floor and table lamps, and finally, user defined lights using glowing materials or glowing faces. Then when you define a glowing face, you can use several lighting models - omni directional, diffuse one sided, directional, or spot effect. The problem with offering powerful options for how to do something is that it makes the product more and more complex.

I would appreciate any criticisms or suggestions you or anyone else may have.

I have copied your query to the IRender nXt Forum:

http://nxt.accurender.com/forums/p/1385/6013.aspx#6013

IRender nXt (not IRender Lite) supports Bump Maps - Auto Bump, traditional Bump Maps and Procedural Bump Maps - See: http://wiki.renderplus.com/index.php?title=Bump_Maps

The IRender automatically uses finer resolution to resolve each pixel. It processes multiple rendering passes (as many as you have time for) to keep improving the image. In addition, you can render at as high a resolution as desired.

Unfortunately, it is, and will remain, a Windows only product. The developer of the nXt engine - which we use - has shown no interest in the Mac marketplace.

You can issue OpenGL commands from Ruby. But I don't think they will do what you expect - such as changing the rotation of the current view.

SketchUp's own view/camera interface is probably the bet way to do this.

@avariant said:

Ok. Has this been reported to SU as an official "bug"? It would be very nice to get it fixed some day.

I didn't report it.

I suppose I hoped hey might read these threads.

Also, has anyone ever reported a bug and felt that the report had anything to do with the final resolution. Especially a bug like this which does not effect almost anyone? (Except we Ruby programmers who want to store attributes on materials and be able to save and reload them).

Yes. This appears to be a SketchUp bug. Attributes and Attribute Dictionaries stored on materials are not saved properly in the SKM file and/or not reloaded properly.

Thanks,

I'll check out those ruby files to see if they help.

I have a IRender nXt client who wants to re-render just part of his model, and then paste the rendered part into an existing. larger, image.

We plan to add a "render screen area" function which will be the best solution, but until it is done, he could achieve the same effect by placing 4 clipping planes around the area he wants to render.

I added this thread to see if anyone had any ideas on how to do this.

However, the sub-topic here - how to make a single clipping place parallel to the view is probably interesting to many users, because it would let us clip off areas in front of the camera to get the rendering desired.

I use Google Checkout.

It was particularly useful the first year - because it was absolutely free (no payment fees at all). Now it is 2% plus 0.20 per transaction with no monthly minimums. This is much better than I was paying when I was using my own credit card firm - (I was paying $75.00 per month plus more than 6% of each transaction)

I also have Pay Pal set up. They charge: 1.9% to 2.9% + $0.30 USD, a bit more)

I like Google Checkout because SketchUp users may have a positive reaction to Google (although some may have a negative reaction), and I feel that corporate customers might feel that Google Checkout is more "professional" then PayPal.

Google has been very good about trapping fraudulent transactions. My old firm seemed to just ignore invalid expiration dates, and I often received fraudulent orders which were reversed weeks later. Google does reverse an occasional order, but usually does it fairly quickly.

The only negative, is that some customers choose to use a dummy email address for their transaction and often our replies to them get lost somewhere as Google attempts to forward our reply.

Purchase Buttons for Web site

Google provides individual purchase buttons which are very easy to set up. You can use shopping cart software for multiple purchase transactions, but the Google Checkout buttons have worked well for us.

Credits for Google Ad-Words

Part of the purchase fees paid to Google are credited to your Google Advertising costs. (A completely separate thing where people searching for things on Google are directed to your site.)

Also, if you use Google Checkout, a special banner is placed below your ads. (Which is either an advantage for people who like Google, or a dis-advantage for people who don't like Google.)

Need Help?

If you want any advice on setting up Google Checkout, let me know. Or you can email me at the address below if you want more information.

You can see our purchase page, with the Google Checkout buttons, here:

http://www.renderplus.com/pdf/purchase.htm#IRender

I would like to add a section plane perpendicular to the current view.

I think this is not precisely possible in a perspective view, but it still might come close.

Does anyone know how to do this?

and/or how to add geometry or constructions lines perpendicular to the current view
(which could then be used to create the section in another view)

I'm not sure I have your email address.

Send an email to

and I'll send your the .SKP

@unknownuser said:

i didn't want to start a new thread for sponza in glass so i'm just doing a little hijacking here ... can you email the skp to me as well?